Photo by Jake McNeill: Marshall's Parker Schmitt throws a pitch in the first inning of the Tigers' 5-0 shutout of Worthington at American Legion Field in Marshall on Tuesday afternoon.

MARSHALL — Parker Schmitt pitched a complete game shutout to pave the way for a 5-0 win for the Marshall baseball team over Worthington in its home opener Tuesday afternoon.

Schmitt struck out 10 Worthington batters and walked three while allowing a pair of hits. No Trojans got further than second base.

“His fastball had good pace and he was throwing his curveball for a strike and it was a really good pitch for him,” Marshall head coach Chace Pollock said. “They’re on the same plane, that helps, and at the end, the curveball kind of falls off. Other than that, he threw strikes and let the defense work when he had to.”

Part of the Trojans’ inability to advance can be attributed to the Marshall defense, particularly Talan Plante. He caught a pair of Worthington base runners attempting to steal in the game.

Worthington struggled with control on the mound. Two of the first three Marshall batters were hit by a pitch.

After being hit by a pitch, Maeyaert put the Tigers up 1-0 in the first inning after stealing home on a wild pitch. Coby Brownlee tried to follow behind him but was caught to end the inning.

Four Tigers were hit by a pitch on the day, including Lincoln Graven twice. Marshall also drew five walks.

“We’ve talked a lot about [plate discipline] this week and having a better approach in the box,” Pollock said. “Today was a good example of a better approach and what we can do. Guys are starting to understand what we want and buying into it. Give [Worthington] credit though, he pitched well.”

Despite their success in terms of reaching base, the Tigers struggled to put the ball in play. Andrew Wallen, Gavin Peterson and Tyler Maeyaert were the only Tigers with hits on the day. While it didn’t land, Plante also sent a hard-hit sacrifice fly into the outfield to drive in Maeyaert in the fifth inning to put Marshall up 4-0.

“This wasn’t a good day to hit. I mean, it was windy and cold… we had [five] hits combined on the day so you know it was going to be a small ball kind of day and we knew that once we got here. We’ll be alright… once the weather changes, we’ll be a little better than this hitting-wise, but I think we did a good job.”

Peterson increased Marshall’s lead in the bottom of the second after bunting to score Braeden Myhre. The Tigers kept their momentum going with a sacrifice fly by Zach Leibfried to score Jonathan Gruhot and put Marshall up 3-0.

Marshall got one last insurance run in the bottom of the sixth when Peterson scored on a wild pitch.

Marshall (2-1) will go on the road to play Willmar Friday at 4 p.m.